Annual? Would it continue to be an annual thing? Drury, a Trumbull native who plays for the Buffalo Sabres, didn't know if it might just last three or four years and then disappear forever. Or would the tournament simply be a one-year wonder?

"I wasn't sure if it would have the staying power," Drury said.

It did. And it still does.

On Monday at the Race Brook Country Club, some 250 golfers will tee it up for Roy, who, just 11 seconds into his collegiate hockey career, crashed into the boards on Oct. 20, 1995, shattering his fourth cervical vertebra and leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down. He has spent these last 10 years working to raise money for spinal cord research, establishing the Travis Roy Foundation, a non-profit organization that distributes grants to spinal cord injury survivors.

"I can't believe that it's been 10 years, 10 years is a long time for anything," Drury said from Boston, where he's visiting for a few days before coming to Connecticut to continue to work on lowering his handicap. "Not a day goes by where I don't think about what 10 years in a (wheel)chair would be like, and he's a real inspiration to me, to my family and to everyone else who comes to the tournament. It just blows me away that he's had to deal with this for 10 years."

What also blows Drury away is the fact that each year, it seems the same people make the effort to show up and play and help raise money for spinal cord research.

"I don't remember too many names, but each year we tee off on the same hole and there's always the same foursome behind us, the same faces," Drury said. "We get to know them and talk to them, and just the people like that, who came out of nowhere 10 years ago and have continued to come each year & I think everyone should feel proud of this. The people that come, it's their tournament. Without them, coming and playing and paying the money, there's nothing. That's what I was thinking about all winter, these people that come every year, they mark it off on their calendars and take the day off from work. Aside from Travis, they're the real heroes."

In the nine previous Travis Roy tournaments, more than $250,000 has been donated to Roy's foundation. This year, Drury — a center with the Sabres and a Stanley Cup winner with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001 — will join his brother Ted, who plays for Kassel Huskies in the German Elite League, among the tournament's big names. The others include Tom Poti, a 2003 all-star defenseman with the New York Rangers, Boston University coach Jack Parker and former Philadelphia Flyers enforcer Dave "The Hammer" Schultz. ESPN anchor John Buccigross will host the post-tournament dinner and raffles.

"But it's the guys that come each year and play and buck up and buy the raffle tickets and stuff like that, that's really touching to see," Drury said. "It's real easy for someone like me, who usually has the summers off, but these guys pay their money and take the day off. I really look up to them. They're the people that make this tournament."

Drury and Roy have remained close friends, and the two often speak at the annual Beanpot Hockey tournament in Boston, where Roy lives. And when there was a hockey season and the Sabres came to the FleetCenter to play the Bruins, Roy usually shows up then, too.

"We talk all the time, about anything and everything," Drury said.

Most likely the talk will now center on Drury's new 1-month-old son, Luke James, a little brother to big sister Dylan, who's almost 2 years old.

But for now, talk will focus on continuing to find a cure for spinal cord injuries and making sure that one day, Travis Roy realizes his dream of walking again.

"That's why we're doing this," Drury said. "The ultimate goal is to raise enough money to raise awareness so there is hope down the road for Travis and whomever else this should happen to. I can't believe 10 years have gone by, but now, I'm looking forward to the next 10. Maybe by then, hopefully, he'll be walking around the course playing. That would be everyone's dream come true, to see him standing on the first tee."

Chris Elsberry is a sports columnist. He can be reached by e-mail at celsberry@ctpost.com